Spice Telecom, one of the cellular service providers in Punjab, on Friday announced a 'special ISD offer' for its subscribers in the state, reducing international calling rates from Rs 16 to Rs 3.99 per minute.
Mobile operator Spice Telecom, which is planning to tap the capital market with an initial public offer, has got Foreign Investment Promotion Board's nod for the public issue.
Idea Cellular, the fifth largest mobile operator in the country with around 15 million subscribers, is believed to be on the verge of clinching a cash-cum-equity buyout of Spice Telecom that values the latter at around $1 billion.
Subash Chandra's Indian Cricket League can breathe a sigh of relief.
Leading service provider Spice Telecom has said consumer must be given competitive choices to choose from and number of telecom players in a circle cannot be an issue.
Malaysia's state-controlled top telecom operator Telecom Malaysia is to buy a 49 per cent stake in India's Spice telecom Ltd, both companies said in Kuala Lumpur on Friday.
During the proceedings, Spice Telecom's counsel Mukul Rohatgi contended that DoT decided not to allow the licence as the operator had a turnover of only Rs 1,100 crore (Rs 11 billion). The decision was discriminatory, he said. However, Telecom Dispute Settlement and Appellate Tribunal declined to pass any interim relief to the firm.
M Corp Global has applied for six new telecom licences to the department of telecom and dispelled rumours that its company Spice Telecom is up for sale.
Telekom Malaysia which already holds over 49 per cent equity stake (which it bought for over Rs 730 crore in Spice has been looking at expanding its base in India beyond just the two circles.
Birla group firm Idea Cellular Ltd and Modis-owned Spice Telecom on Friday dared the government to allocate spectrum to those mobile operators who submitted applications after them.
The Aditya Birla group's wireless telephony firm Idea Cellular has agreed to buy Spice Communications in a three-stage deal in which minority shareholders of Spice would be given an option either to swap their shares for the Birla group firm or sell them in an open offer.
The department of telecommunications has raised questions about the merger between Idea Cellular and Spice Telecom violating key clauses on intra-circle merger and mobile licence conditions.
Spice Communications, a company that offers GSM services in Punjab and Karnataka through its Spice Telecom brand, intends to raise Rs 520 crore (Rs 5.20 billion) through its initial public offering (IPO).
In the biggest synergy in the Indian telecom industry, leading cellular service providers BPL Mobile, Escotel, RPG Cellular and Spice Telecom, have forged what they have named the 'MobileFirst' Alliance to provide enhanced value to their customers.
The official said there are both challenges and opportunities for India as many of its competitor countries in exports, such as China Vietnam, Bangladesh, Cambodia and Thailand, face higher duties.
Goods from sectors, including agriculture, precious stones, chemicals, pharma, medical devices, electricals, and machinery may get impacted if the US will go ahead with imposing reciprocal tariffs on Indian products, according to experts. They said that these sectors could face additional customs duties from the Trump administration because of the high tariff differential or gap, which is the difference between the import duties imposed by the US and India on a product.
The commerce ministry is working on different scenarios to assess the possible fallout of reciprocal tariffs to be imposed by the US administration on April 2 on its key trading partners including India, sources said. US President Donald Trump has said that April 2 will be 'Liberation Day' as he plans to announce tariffs or import duties to bring down America's trade deficit, and promote the country's manufacturing.
Spice Telecom on Tuesday launched 'People Phone', a mobile handset with lifetime prepaid connection at just Rs 599, targeting the rural markets where the company sees a huge potential for expansion.
Even if the company's merger issue was sorted out, it would have a lot of ground to cover in order to attract subscribers.
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on Wednesday issued another directive to Bharti, Spice and Hutchison-Essar following blocking of calls originating from the basic telecom players offering limited mobile services.
TRAI said the two companies failed to fulfill roll-out obligations and their merger was in violation of rules.
Some 74 applications for these licences for mobile services are pending with the Department of Telecom.
Telekom Malaysia might partner with strategic investors to increase their combined stake in Spice Communications to 74 per cent. The Malaysian giant has 39.20 per cent equity in the telecom company and foreign institutional investors hold 9.59 per cent, taking the total foreign holding to 48.79 per cent.
Apple's iconic iPad2 and Samsung's Galaxy Tab are set to face a local challenge.
We asked readers to share experiences they've had with their cellphone service providers. Here are some more accounts.
Bhupendra Kumar Modi of Spice Corp on Thursday sent an expression of interest to the new Satyam Computer Services board to acquire the fraud-hit company.
MobileFirst, an alliance formed by the second rung cellular operators in India, is mulling a slash in mobile-to-mobile STD airtime rates, in line with an announcement made by Idea Cellular on Saturday.
Differences within the Cellular Operators Association of India have come out in the open again with Spice Telecom Chairman B K Modi supporting the government's move, announced on Monday, to launch "number portability" in four big cities and auction 3G spectrum for incumbents and new players.
A day after scoring a thumping win over Bangalore, members of the King's XI Punjab team interacted with kids at the KSCA.
The court asked Idea to transfer all the licences of Spice back to DoT.
Telecom to Telekom Malaysia in an attempt to complete the merger, sources involved in the negotiations said, declining to be identified. The group has hired Enam Financial as adviser to the transaction. Investment banking sources said the lawyers from both the parties are now busy structuring the deal so that the acquisition meets all the regulatory norms of the country and the Birlas retain control over Idea Cellular.
Aditya Birla group firm Idea Cellular on Monday made an open offer to the shareholders of Spice Communications for acquiring additional 20 per cent stake in the telecom services provider for about Rs 1,066.63 crore (Rs 10.66 billion).
Four cellular operators -- BPL Mobile, Escotel, RPG Cellular and Spice Telecom -- have formed an alliance, MobileFrist, with a target to rope in a minimum of six million subscribers, paving way for more tariff war.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances